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<peers through the door>

<and wanders in, looking the old place over, ghosts seeming to dance before her eyes. As her eyes travel the room visions flash before her, as though she sees through the eyes of others:

` Indigo romping through the building from rafters to basement with her dear Killjoy
` Lishler giving smeary chocolate kisses while running around in her child sized armor
` tiny little gremlin Mirth scaling the bar to make use of the small skating rink that the infamous barbtender Akroyer had set up for her
` Agapanthus stepping through the door with her belled headdress ringing merrily and announcing her arrival as she looks around that impish Kirre
` Crash sitting in the corner scrubbing scorch marks off of her armor AGAIN
` Ay'ela reclining beside the bar looking half confused.

As those visions fade, she sees others float through the room:

` Allison in the corner with her damn gin, efil stuff
` Riddler and his blasted Subway Club leaving vegetable matter and crumbs all over the place
` Achilles looking dazed by a phenomenon he called 'hyperscroll' though she never understood how a scroll could be hyper
` Akky. the ever faithful barbtender (who does a mean polka, by the way) behind the bar, giving the clientele just what they needed to cure what ailed 'em
` Velvet and her "FLEE" flashbacks
` Akena accidentally blasting things
` Saleena sipping daiquiris at the bar
` Death, Dream, Desire and others of The Endless clustered together in conversation

Other faces rise from her memory, some triggering grins - Duquesne, Corky, Kalannar, Clearwater, Tarin, Viper, Xcalibur, Bo, Starbuck, Cime, Slik, EnLiKil, Lordly, Dreamer, Cat Lord, Wolf Ling, Zane, Armina, Twister, Lady Starr, Sir Maggel, Jolie, Ariana, Freddeux, Bondu, Megabyte, Arnos, Porter, Romilly, Crys, Capri, maja, Alaric, Ariel, and so many more whose faces trigger memories but not yet names. She ducks behind the bar and giggles as she sees one of Akky's goofy bar aprons, then reaches under and behind some shelving and finds the secret stash of tequila he left for her. She spies some cleanish towels beneath the bar and cleans off a spot on the bar to sit and drink her tequila while she formulates a plan to restore the old place to its former glory.>

<pulls herself up from beneath the bar, unaware of the cleaning rag and cobwebs hooked on one horn of her hat, the dirt smudged across her cheek, and the general disrepair of her once fairly white shirt, clambers up onto the bar and surveys the rest of the inn, eyes rolling up in her head as she sees how much more needs to be done, she falls into a faint upon the bar>

<opens one bleary, bloodshot green eye and looks around, searching for the voice that disturbed her peaceful sleep, wriggles around trying to get comfy on the distinctly uncomfy bar, but gives it up as a bad idea and goes off in search of her favorite bed upstairs>

Well-named, this Misty Hollow is. Could hardly find it for the overgrowth, mists, and spider webs. Had a demon's own time finding this place...but it does look familiar, if a bit dusty. Wonder if there's aught Dwarven Ale to be had here anymore...

"GRAMPIES!!", cries the little blonde knight as she dashes through the door, her child sized armor clattering loud enough to wake the dead. Her arms wrap around the bard's knees and hugs hard, then she steps back and holds up her hands to prove she hasn't been eating chocolate before tugging at the edge of his tunic. "PLAY GRAMPIES PLAY!!"

The bard looks at his scarred and gnarled fingers, then at the barb on the bar, and smiles.

"You remembered...after all this time. Many and long are the miles I've traveled since last I plucked the strings of that lute. And many and varied have been the stops along the way. Some were longer than others, some were better..."

He sighs and looks away...into the past, it would seem.

"I'm afraid the lute is even more ethereal than ever...it's been a long time since a note was struck from its strings. It's going to take a bit of work, and time, and mayhap a touch o'magic, for it to sing again."

The Elf gazes around the bar once more, a smile fleeting across his lips now and again at a memory. Then he grins at the barb.

"I think I sense a bit of the old magic here, though. Maybe, in time, the ache in these fingers will ease, and the magic will enable the lute again.

Let's hope."

He laughs at the little urchin and lifts her up, giving her a smooch on the cheek.

"Ahhh...my little monster-child! What...no messy hands??"

Reaching into a fold of his traveling cloak, he pulls out a small object, wrapped in a shiny foil, and hands it to the tyke.

Wincing as she sees the state of the elf's hands, she gestures to the hot tub "Mebbe that'll help ease some o' the pains... it's been a right handy thing after some long days... and while yer here, go pick out a room upstairs and I'll get the lil one to cleaning it up and making it habitable. You're welcome ta hang yer hat here if'n ya'd like ta! The dwarven ale is back where Akky always usta stash it, help yerself, it might help limber up the ol' knucklebones!"

Squeals with delight, "Ooooh, sparkly!", and shinnies back down the bard holding the foiled object in front of her on both hands as though it's a grand treasure. "Lookie lookie lookie!! PUPPY!! Come see!!" She takes off at a dead run to show off the goodie to everyone in the tavern.